


Mugunghwa (무궁화)

by onlyonetofive



Category: Cravity (Band)
Genre: Historical Inaccuracy, I wrote this instead of studying, M/M, Romance, Transmigration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:00:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28909710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyonetofive/pseuds/onlyonetofive
Summary: Kang Minhee is concurrently a second-year engineering student at Sungkyunkwan University and just finished a strenuous exam. Going home, he encountered a suspicious group of people when someone suddenly grabbed his hands. Both of them ran fast as they could to get away from the bad guys when they suddenly got hit by a truck. Minhee woke up after the incident and was shocked that he became a crowned prince from the past. A spectrum of events unfolded in front of him— shock, dread, excitement, everything that he never imagined, and of course love. Will Minhee be able to know why he went back from the past and know the person who dragged him into this mess?
Relationships: Kang Minhee/Koo Jungmo
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. Since this story will depict historical stuff, I just want to apologize early on if I had written things in the wrong way. I'll try my best to research and make things appropriate. On the other hand, this story will be the first story that I am posting online so please bear with me if there are grammar mistakes and incorrect spellings. I'll exert more effort to improve my writing because I'm still a rookie. Thank you very much!

“People, to some degree, had varying notions about a certain perineal topic—Death. This topic seems a little bit controversial yet it didn’t stop people from discussing it and think about it. Some say that death is the greatest escape from pain, escape from this cruel and wicked world. It is the only key for someone to open the door that leads to a life full of peace and quietness. Despite these fulfilling statements, others opposed the latter and had the thoughts of death as simply the end of everything; end of life, end of happiness, end of everything. These diverse concepts led people to the ideas of reincarnation, heaven and hell, past life and afterlife, etc.”

Kang Minhee pushed the combination of keyboard buttons to save the document that he is writing and released a long sigh. He chuckled at the thought of him writing a simple essay about death formally.

“Death sounds like fun… and peaceful,” he melancholically uttered to himself.

Minhee turned off the laptop, checked his things for school, and went straight to the bathroom in a single fluid motion. Even though it’s still 9 AM, he needs to prepare himself for the incoming practical exam in the afternoon. 

As Minhee is about to leave the small room that he was inhabiting, a woman in her late forties suddenly barged-in with a pre-adolescent kid following her.  
“Kang Minhee, I won’t waste any time because our Jungshin here still needs to go to his piano lessons. I don’t want to lose face for being late. Now, give me the money.” The aging lady tattled in a straight and mocking tone.

Minhee turned around in a lifeless manner to fetch the money that she was talking about, “Here.”

The lady counted the money one-by-one, making sure that the child had given her the exact amount she wanted. “By the way,” the lady spoke while stuffing the bills into her black-leathered clutch. “Don’t make me wait next time. It is better if you’re the one who’s going to deliver the money, Understood?”

Minhee didn’t answer and listlessly looked at the backs of the people leaving his shabby abode. He stiffened himself for him not to cry. When he was a child, he haphazardly remembered that his mother was not like this. Everyone around him was not like this. The tall boy smirked bitterly, “Money does change people, doesn’t it?” 

Minhee is presently a second-year Chemical Engineering student at Sungkyunkwan University in Gyeonggi-do. He never really thought that he would take up this field of study because he doesn’t really have an inclination towards chemistry, after all, he’s a physics guy- or he thought so. He just had to succumb to the pressure induced by his family and relatives to take this degree. After all, he needs to return them the favor for raising him.

Minhee walked to the university with a gloomy aura. He thought that this day would be better than the ones before, but he’s wrong. He felt that as he grew older, he’s becoming more disappointed with the things happening around him. If only he could turn back the time.

July 2016

It was a warm summer day in Suncheon Isu Middle School. Students from Class 2-3 were having their morning self-study class when the class president suddenly called the attention of everyone.

“Everybody, listen up. I went to the teachers’ room and they informed me that our Mathematics teacher had met an unfortunate accident and is currently in the hospital right now. For the meantime…” 

He was interrupted by a boy sitting in the back, “Mr. President, I’ll go out. Okay? The teacher is clearly not here.”

The class president glared and continued speaking, “I and our homeroom teacher decided to anything you want for that period. It’s only for today though because the substitute teacher will arrive tomorrow. Understood?” The person speaking in front smiled as he heard the cheers of his classmates.

“Yah! Mini-ya! Let’s go to the cafeteria. I heard that they have macarons today.” The small adolescent exclaimed as he poked the head of the taller boy resting on the desk.

“Hmm? Can you repeat what you were saying Hyeongjun?” Minhee uttered while rubbing his eyes.

“You weren’t listening to me after all!” Hyeongjun pouted and flicked the other boy’s forehead.

“Oww! I was just joking okay! Even though there are macarons, we should not waste the free time on them. The teacher said that he was going to give a test today. I assume that the substitute teacher will give it tomorrow.”

“But Mini~ It’s macarons~ I thought you like them! Did you know, I heard that they also served cake today.”  
“WHAT CAK—”

“Shush… Do you the cake or not?” Hyeongjun grinned evilly.  


“YOU VIXEN!”

“Shush…”

“Fine. But, we're going to review along the way, okay?” Minhee spoke with his arms crossed.

“Understood!” Hyeongjun saluted. “As expected of a top student. Tsk… Tsk…”

Minhee didn’t bother to reply anymore. He knew that they would waste more time if the both of them would continue bickering rather than going to the cafeteria. He smiled widely as the sunlight hit his face, highlighting the brown beautiful specks.

Minhee was brought back into reality when he realized that he bumped into someone. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Oh, wait! Are you a student at Sungkyunkwan?” The stranger asked. 

“Yes, I am. I apologize for bumping into you.” Minhee bowed.

“It’s really okay. But you have to watch where you are walking. You may run into accidents if you don’t do it.” The stranger smiled and patted his back.

“Understood. Thank you for the reminder. I should keep walking now.”

Minhee moved forward until he reached the university.

Because of the unwanted distractions that welcomed Minhee along the way, he decided to visit the school theater. The performing arts students are preparing for a performance for the upcoming university week and it is somehow stress relieving for Minhee to see people act, dance, and sing. 

Way back in high school, Minhee had the passion for becoming an artist together with Hyeongjun. They secretly auditioned for different agencies and companies. Some of them accepted the two, while some rejected them. After careful deliberation from the two high-schoolers, they decided to go together to Starship Entertainment.  
Starship Entertainment is a well-known agency that is home to the digital-monster artist and labeled as the K-pop Summer Queens, Sistar. They also house some other well-known artists like WJSN, Monsta X, K Will, Madclown, etc.

Hyeongjun and Minhee were enjoying their youths, juggling being hard-working trainees and diligent students. Everything was going smoothly for them until the bullies in their school found out that Hyeongjun was aspiring to be a singer. 

Minhee deeply thought about why these people were enjoying tormenting his best friend. He couldn’t find the answer and he was deeply frustrated about it. The only thing that he could do is to protect the only person who could understand him deeply. 

They threatened him to stop. At first, the victim was hesitant to give up— after all, Minhee was protecting him. One day, Minhee found Hyeonjun in an isolated bathroom. He couldn’t bear to see his friend suffering. He tried to report the incident to the school. The school took some action, but it wasn’t enough. Hyeongjun eventually gave up being a trainee. As his best friend, Minhee also gave up and just focused on being a straight-A student.

The reminiscing freckled-boy shook off the bitter thoughts and spent his attention on the practicing students. After the student left-off, Minhee decided to spend his lunch in the library to condition himself for the upcoming practical exam on organic chemistry.

“Okay, everyone. Before we start our practical exam, I would like to remind everyone that you have to follow the laboratory procedures when handling the chemicals and materials. Don’t ever take your gloves off…”

Minhee was listening intently to every word the professor was saying when his phone suddenly vibrated. He took his cellphone out and he found out that his best friend was calling him. He was neither delighted nor sad that Hyeongjun called him, he was overly anxious about it. He had the gut-feels that something is happening to Hyeonjun.  
Minhee raised his hand to call the professor's attention, "Uhm… Mr. Jung. Can I go out for a moment? I need to answer this call."  
"Permission granted, Mr. Kang," the professor in his late 20's smiled an assurance.

"Thank you very much!" Minhee bowed and hastily ran out of the room. The phone in his hand was still vibrating. He swiftly pressed the answer button and placed the phone near his right ear.

"Songie~ What's the matter?" Minhee articulated softly.

"Min... Mini... Save me... Please save me... I'm begging you... They're coming after me... Mini... Mini..." Hyeongjun's voice was shaking and is clearly showing signs of fright.

Minhee inhaled deeply and thought different ways to console the other in the speed of light, "Everything is going to be fine Songie. Wherever you are, I need you to stay right there, okay? I'm just finishing my practical exam. It’s going to be fast. It will only take an hour at most. Don't worry anymore, okay? Tell me, where are you right now?"

" Miniyah... *sob* Help me, please... They're going to harass me again... Mini... *sob*. I'm... *sob* ... in ... *sob* ... my house... *sob*. Mini, please I'm begging you."

"Okay, okay. Now, I'm going to hang up the call Songiyah. Remember that I am here, okay? Always remember that."

Minhee presses the end call button and nervously placed his phone in his pocket. "Tsk, what did those guys do to Hyeongjun again," he thought to himself. 

He quickly calmed himself. If only he could skip this exam, he thought to himself. But he can’t, he won’t pass the subject if he missed to take it. After all, he’s struggling in digesting the concepts in chemistry. His scores on the tests were subpar already and if he won’t exert extra effort, he would clearly fail the subject.

The exam went smoothly for Minhee, of course, it’s because of his preparations. He released a long sigh and took off the protective equipment he’s wearing.  
“I need to go to Hyeongjun now. I hope he’s doing well and already calmed down.” Minhee assured himself.  
“Okay, class! I would like to inform you that I will be handing out the results of all of your exams next meeting. Furthermore, I will also give out your grades for this subject next meeting. Class dismissed.” Mr. Jung announced.  
The students thanked the teacher, including Minhee, as they went out of the laboratory.  
As Minhee just made a couple of steps away from the former, he received again a call from Hyeongjun. The boy didn’t hesitated and hastily touched the answer button.

“Songiyah~ Are you fine now? I just finished my exams. I’ll go to your place now,” Minhee talked with aegyo.

“Hello, Sir. Can we know your full name?” A deep feminine voice emanated from the other line.

“Uh…” Minhee stuttered as he felt that what he had done just now was truly embarrassing. “It’s Kang Minhee. Uhm, excuse ma’am but can I ask why does the phone of my friend be on you?”

“Hello, Sir. I am a nurse talking on behalf of the South Jeolla Province Hospital. We would like to inform you that your friend, Song Hyeongjun, had passed away. According to the report given to us by the police, he jumped down from a bridge and drowned. We’re sorry for your loss. We apologize for contacting you. Your number is the only number registered on this phone. If you know other relatives of Mr. Song, please contact us as soon as possible. We deeply apologize and mourn for your loss.”

Minhee felt his heart sting as the nurse talked from the other end. Every word the stranger uttered was like a sword stabbing his entireness. The call ended, and the Minhee felt that the world around him stopped.

Passed away? Jumped? Hospital? South Jeolla Hospital? Minhee couldn’t understand anything. “Who jumped from the bridge? Hyeongjun?” the boy who just received the call felt his legs wobbled and losing strength. He doesn’t believe anything.

“No, no, no. Hyeongjun is still alive. Hyeonjun is strong. He won’t do such a thing. We promised each other that after college we will travel the world together.” Minhee was assuring himself that his best friend is still alive.

Minhee gathered the strength left in him and ran as fast as he could. Every step that he took, a tear dropped from his eyes. He ran to the subway station without rest until he’s running out of breath. This was the fastest route he could take to see Hyeongjun.

As the breathless boy was about to enter the train, he received a call. It was an unknown number so hesitated slightly if he was going to answer it or not. In the end, he took the call.

“Hello?” Minhee voiced unenthusiastically.

“Minhee-yah. This is Hyeongjun’s mom.” The other line spoke.

Minhee was stunned. He didn’t what to say to his best friend’s mom. Maybe, after all, Hyeonjun was alive and the news he received earlier was just a prank of Songie.  
“Yes, auntie. What can I do for you?”

“Minhee-yah…” The other end was crying. She was trying herself not to yield into the pain of losing her child. “Our Hyeonjunie, he’s gone. He killed himself. He jumped off from the bridge.” 

Now Minhee could hear the outbursts of the mother. “Understood auntie. I’ll go there to see Hyeonjun for the last time,” and he ended the call.

Minhee turned his back from the station and walked lifelessly towards his shabby habitat. He lost his best friend. He lost the only person that could understand him. “Hyeongjun-ah. Songie~ Your free from the pain, right? Now that you’ve escaped this cruel world, please be happy on the other side. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect your smile. I’m sorry for backing away from the dream of us performing together.”

Minhee cried on his way. Without Hyeongjun, he didn’t how to continue. He didn’t know how to overcome everything by himself. Maybe, he should also do the same thing that his best friend had done. 

“Songie~ Mini will come to you.”

The devastated boy walked and walked. He didn’t mind if he got lost or couldn’t go home. In the past, he may be lonely but he never felt alone. Now, he couldn’t feel that someone would come to his side and take the feeling of isolation away. 

The sky transitioned from its cerulean tint into a clear dark-blue hue. Minhee was walking and didn’t have any plans to stop. The boy strode his long legs on the hard-cold pavement as he was about to cross the bridge. On the midway, Minhee witnessed a group of suspicious people ganging up on a person.

“Guys seems like we’ve got another company,” one of the thugs said.

Minhee heard it but he didn’t bat an eye. He’s too drained to enter a fight or care about anything else.

“Please help me… *coughs*,” the person lying on the side blurted out. 

Minhee was stunned. That was the same phrase that his best friend used before. The freckled boy gritted his teeth and was about to launch a kick when someone suddenly spoke, “Yah, Kang Minhee. Have heard what happened to Song Hyeongjun?”

Minhee felt a chill in his spine. He mustered up some courage and talked back, “What did you do to Hyeongjun bastard?

“Oh!” The person in a black suit was somehow delighted. “It seems like you still remember me? Of course! You should remember me! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Who do you think made the poor little Song Hyeongjun bathe in blood during high school?” 

Anger oozed out from Minhee’s heart. The bastard in front of him was the one who tormented his best friend until he quitted his dream of becoming an artist. 

“YOU!” Minhee roared. 

“Boys, you know what to do.”

Minhee was about to fight back when someone suddenly took his hand and tugged him to run. Now, the thugs were running after them. Minhee let the person in front of him drag him to wherever street or junction they would pass through. 

It was almost half an hour but the chase still didn’t end. The two preys were still running away from the vicious predators. They just ran and didn’t talk.

The two boys were about to sneakily cross the street when one of the thugs saw them. “Guys! There they are!”

“Shit. They’ve noticed.” Minhee blurted out.

“Of they’ll notice. You’re too tall.” The boy spoke for the first time and chuckled yet still didn’t look back at Minhee.

“Let’s go!” This time it was Minhee who tugged the other boy. Minhee didn’t know where did he find the courage to ran nor to escape from the vicious beasts.

As the two were about to run past half-way of the street, a fast-moving truck suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Minhee and the other person didn’t have much time to avoid such a predicament and could only accept their fate. As a simile to the word surrender, the tall freckled boy closed his eyes, embracing the thing that is in store for him— death. Before the truck was about to rash into them, Minhee felt a warm embrace.

*Crash*

On his last breath, Minhee coincidentally read a message from his phone. He didn’t bother to think about why the cellphone was still intact and doesn’t have any damage. It showed:

2023년 7월 7일  
16:30  
널 지켜 줄거야.  
(I will protect you.)

Minhee shed the last tear of his life. The thoughts of being with his best friend and wanting the both of them to live in peace and happiness welled up in his heart. 

Minhee suddenly woke up because of the noise coming from the outside of his room. It was not lout yet it wasn’t pleasant to the ears either. So, the boy tried to stand up.

“Ouch! My head…” Minhee caressed his head to alleviate the throbbing pain he felt. “Wait, I’m still not dead? I thought I got hit by a truck?” he pondered. He focused on calming his head and glanced at the surroundings.

“Where am I?” He saw an incense burner, a bookshelf with a lot of old books, and a hanbok. “A hanbok?” he thought to himself.

With the mysterious atmosphere of the room, he steadily walked towards a table a saw a wooden box. He opened it and he realized that it was a mirror. He stared directly at his face and examined it. It was pale yet the freckles were still there. He tried to look at what he wearing and shocked eminently crept into him. 

“WHY AM I WEARING A SOKJEOGORI AND SOKBAJI?!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happyyyyyyyy birthdayyyyyyyy! Koo Jungmoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
> 
> I hope that you'll all like this. Thank you very much for reading! :D

“Wait. Is this real?!” Minhee was hyperventilating. Considering the fact that they were run over by a truck, died, and woke up in a place that seems old-fashioned— the boy’s heart couldn’t manage to calm down. He tried to pinch his cheek once, then twice. He then put some force into it until he felt some pain.

“Ouch!” he yelped as he caressed his own face. “I didn’t wake up so this isn’t a dream. Where really am I?” 

Minhee once again looked around the room. He examined everything and every corner of the walled quadrilateral. He opened some books and tried to read some. With this action he felt quite relieved, at least he still can understand this world. His shining white forehead that had been plastered since he started scavenging creased as he looked again at the shiny bluish silk cloth folded beside the wooden box he just opened.

“Woah!” he exclaimed. “The cloth of this hanbok is finer and smoother than the ones I wore before. Maybe this is genuine?” He just laughed at his own remarks.

After some time, the tall boy decided to stop ruining the things inside the room and put everything into place. Minhee, then, tried to peek through the door to see the outside surroundings but after such action, his lips bent downwards. The only thing that he could see is a long wooden hallway.

“Where am I exactly?” Minhee thought for some time. “Is this like those anime protagonists that had been sent to other dimensions, worlds, or even a game after being hit by a truck? Or…” he was rattling every idea that had come over his mind. “Is this the heaven that they’re saying?”

Minhee thought that his thoughts were extremely absurd yet despite the absurdity of those things, they were not completely impossible nor improbable. So, the boy thought of things that could help him in the world that he was situated currently.

“Maybe there are keywords that I should recite? Should I try then? System, online!” Nothing comes up or sounded back as a welcome speech. 

“Maybe I should try to imagine a holographic screen? Maybe that would do.” Still, Minhee failed. “Maybe, I should just continue uttering some words.”

“Ice!”

“Fire!”

“Water!”

“Earth!”

“Rasengan!”

Despite the enormous amount of words he had spoken, nothing had resulted to fruition. 

With all the wasted effort, Minhee didn’t stand back and continued looking for incantations or symbols. He went to the pile of books and that he just skimmed earlier. After scanning one, he released a long sigh and put the book back to its original place.

“Maybe, I was thinking too irrationally. Let’s just take this as a second chance to live a new and peaceful life. Right, Kang Minhee? Let the adventures begin!” Minhee smirked as he looked at himself in the mirror and put on the blue robe that had been the topic of his monologue a while ago. The tall freckled boy smoothly opened the door and started to walk on narrow corridors. 

*thud* *thud* *thud*

The sound of the hurrying footsteps of the olden court lady was reverberating throughout the corridors.

“What should I do? Where did the prince had gone?” Her voice was shaking and completely in panic.

She continued to walk briskly only slowed down as she approached the King’s quarters.

“Matron Son, what brought you here?”

“It’s a very urgent and private matter, Eunuch Choi. I can’t tell it out loud. Maybe officials are lurking around.”

The old lady tasked the eunuch to lean forward as she whispered the news. After hearing such information, Eunuch Choi hurriedly let the matron enter the chamber.

“Your Majesty. The Matron Son is here to bring some news for the King,” the eunuch informed.

“You may leave now,” the King ordered in a full authoritative voice.

“Your Majesty,” the lady servant kowtowed. 

“What brought you here Matron Son? I guess it’s an urgent matter right?” The King chuckled.

“Your Highness, it’s about the crowned prince.”

“Hmm? What about the crowned prince?”

“I brought prince Minhee’s breakfast earlier and I found out that he left his room. I tried to wait for a couple of minutes thinking that maybe he just went to the washroom but he wasn’t there either.” The old servant inhaled deeply. “Your Majesty, I think the prince had gotten out of the palace.”

“Ever since, that boy didn’t bother to disappear from his room except for just a couple of minutes. Matron Son, since you’ve been attending the prince for a long period of time, what do you think is the reason for him to do such action?”

“I don’t know, Your Majesty. Your Highness, you knew already knew that the prince wouldn’t even talk to anyone ever since that incident happened. Even the young attendant that you placed hasn’t made longer conversations with the prince. We didn’t know how the young prince thinks…” The old servant lady was about to end her statement when she remembered something.

“Ah! Right. Your Majesty, last night the prince spoke for the first time to me and he said, ‘I won’t be here tomorrow and the day onwards. Thank you for your service and please tell Hyeongjun my appreciation for being at my side despite it’s just the King’s order. I’ll be going to a peaceful place now,’ and smiled at me.”

“What!? Why you didn’t tell me as soon as he said it!?” The King was fuming in anger and somehow a little pity. “You’ll be held responsible Matron Son if anything happens to the prince!”

“Understood, Your Majesty.” The old lady kowtowed.

“Eunuch Choi!”

A chubby middle-aged man suddenly entered, “What is it, Your Majesty?”

“Eunuch Choi, call the royal guards. Don’t tell other officials about this. If possible, try to stop Minhee from going out and meet the common people. They should not know his existence. Remember, keep this matter as discrete as possible.”

“Understood, Your Majesty”

With the sudden disappearance of the prince, everyone in the room left immediately. Little did they know, someone in the vicinity was listening to their conversation.  
“Prince Minhee? I thought the King’s son is only Prince Seongmin. Hmm… Things are getting interesting.”

“Woah! This place is huge ah!” Minhee couldn’t believe what he had seen. The boy started to walk around the area, inspecting how the people do their things and the architecture of the structures themselves. 

"Looking at this place makes me think that I traveled back in the past," the boy concluded after having a glimpse of the outside world.

In the area he could only structures that were mostly made of wood, the walkway he's standing on wasn't made from asphalt and cement, and the people busying around were wearing the traditional Korean clothing— everything that he could only see in dramas and movies.

Minhee casually walked on the pavements while taking the fancy of the sight that welcomed his eyes. At first, it was a nice feeling for him; breathing fresh air, being able to appreciate the old-fashioned area, and the fact that the people who made him lose his all were not in the same place as him, he truly felt that it was heaven. Not until he noticed the gazes of the people who walk past him. He could clearly sense the feeling of contempt, fright, and disgust. Minhee unconsciously touched the back of his head, and such sudden realization hit him. HIS HAIR WAS SHORT!

The boy in blue traditional clothing panicked as he was thinking of a place to hide or something that would cover his hair. For the people in the present, getting a haircut was completely normal but in the past, it was completely taboo. As he was walking briskly while covering his face, someone suddenly touched his shoulders.

"Ahhh..." he yelled in surprise.

"You lunatic, where do you think you're going. How come you've entered the palace huh?" It was a palace guard.

"Palace?" Minhee innocently asked back.

"Yes, Palace. If I were you I would jump my butt off to leave this place before the King sees me. Anyone or anything that the King sees as unpleasant in his palace grounds is always disposed of." The guard moved forward to close his gap from Minhee and touched his hair. "You treasure your life, don't you?"

The short-haired boy gulped because of nervousness. He was completely afraid. Being excited with such reason is completely absurd to him yet humiliating if he died because of it. "Uhm, excuse me. Can you lead me to the gate? I forgot where it's located."

The guard grunted and harshly talked back, "Fine! Can enter yet can't get out. Clearly an imbecile and just air-headed."

Minhee just kept his cool and rolled his eyes after hearing such words. "Aren't you talking about yourself?" he thought.

As they approached the gates, the guard kicked Minhee at the back, causing the boy to stumble to the ground.

"Don't ever come back here, lunatic."

Minhee didn't bother to waste his energy on such a matter. He stood up, wiped off the dust from his clothes, and continued to familiarize the area that was new to him. This time, he became conscious of the people’s judgments thus he ought to find something that could cover his hair. Luckily, he found a gat that’s been lying behind the bushes.

Since he didn’t know anything about the place, it didn’t take a long period of time that he got lost. He was trapped in the woods and couldn’t find the way out. At this time, Minhee reminisced about his past and all course of action that he took. “Hyeongjun-ah. I’m really sorry for leaving you in pain. I’m too selfish. I just thought of myself and didn’t care much about it since we departed from high school. I deeply regretted that I didn’t take you from that forsaken place.” All that the boy could do was to cry his heart out again. It was guilt and sadness that engulfed him.

Minhee continued to weep out all the emotions stored in his heart until he came back to his senses. He continued to wander deep into the forest until he stumbled upon a bush full of pinkish-purple flowers. “Wait. Is this a mugunghwa? It’s so beautiful.” He adored the flowers bit by bit. From their filaments down to the sepals and even then bush. Because of extreme adoration, Minhee wasn’t wary of the path he’s been traversing so he stumbled on a protruding root of the neighboring tree.

“Ahhh…” Minhee embraced the thought of falling off the ground. He closed his eyes as the result of the latter but the sensation of colliding into the rigid soil didn’t arrive. The freckled boy’s forehead creased as he went curious as to why he didn’t stumble to the ground.

“Uhm… Are you okay?” It was a calming voice. So careful that it could be compared to a lullaby.

Minhee panicked after hearing the voice. His face reddened to the point that he, himself, knew it. His heart was beating faster The shaken boy cleared his throat and composed himself.

“I’m fine. Thank you very much for catching me.” Minhee bowed to the other person to hide the fact that he was perturbed.

The other person’s eyes closed as his lips formed a smile. “Are fond of this flower, too?” he initiated.

“Yes! I do take the fancy of this flower. I really like the fact that it’s so simple and gives-off a familiar feeling. How about you? Can I know the reason why you have taken a liking to this flower?”

“Really. Interesting take. To answer your question, It’s just that the person whom I hold dearly loves that flower. By the way, I’m Jungmo, Koo Jungmo.”

“Ah… I’m Minhee, Kang Minhee. By the way, thank you so much for not letting me fall off the ground.”

“No problem.”

Minhee felt the awkwardness between them conversing and he didn’t know how to break the ice. Other than their awkward conversation, anxiety couldn’t leave Minhee as the latter could feel the other’s gaze on him. Instead of feeling the tension of the atmosphere, Minhee focused his attention on the flowers glowing every time his eyes set on them.

More couple of minutes passed and Minhee decided to speak again. “Uhm… Jungmo-nim, I observed that I’m a bit taller than you hehe.” Minhee literally cringed at what he said.

“Oh really? Can you stand in front of me so I can verify what you just stated?” Jungmo uttered with a teasing tone and finished with a smirk.

“I AM DEFINITELY SURE THAT I AM TALLER THAN YOU!” Minhee didn’t have a second thought and stood up in front of Jungmo, directly facing the other.

Since Minhee is indeed taller than Jungmo, Minhee jokingly looked down at the other to tease him back. What Minhee didn’t expect is that Jungmo would attack him by showing his precious eye-smile that made the freckled boy’s heart race.

“YOUR MAJESTY!” They were interrupted by a shout.

The two who were clouded by a somehow intimate atmosphere broke off their eye contacts and pretended to do anything else.

“Prince Minhee, I certainly knew that you would come here. The King is very angry because you left the palace!” It was Song Hyeongjun, Prince Minhee’s attendant bestowed upon by the king.

“Hyeonjun? Is that you Hyeongjun!?” Minhee was clearly excited. A while ago, he was feeling so much despair because of his best friend’s loss, now he was jubilated that the same person was in front of him.

“Your Majesty, we have to go now. Mister Koo, I hope that no one knew about this.”

“Yes, of course,” Jungmo replied. Before they parted ways, he faced Minhee and patted his head, “Stay safe, always.”

Minhee smiled to Jungmo and spilled some words of parting, “Thank you very much. I hope we could meet again.”

After then, the prince and the attendant walked back to the palace. Their silhouettes of playing with each other were flashing through Jungmo’s vision. Jungmo walked back to his abode as the figures of the two disappeared from the scenery of trees.


End file.
